Indian President Calls for Emphasis on Research for Establishing World Class Universities

President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee recently inaugurated an international conference on 'Universities of the Future: Knowledge Innovation and Responsibility', a 3-day forum that sought to examine the future of Indian universities in the 21st century. Organized by International Institute for Higher Education Research and Capacity Building (IIHEd) of O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) India, the forum was held from 18th to 20th March, 2017.

Speaking at the forum, President Mukherjee called on universities and institutions of the country for creating a higher education roadmap that focusses on critical elements of research, knowledge creation, institutional excellence and global benchmarking.

President Mukherjee also emphasized that the education system should take on the challenge of tapping the 'demographic dividend' while also pitching for a stronger industry-academia partnership. "Knowledge mobilization through quality higher education is pivotal to the socio-economic development of a nation. Innovation and futuristic universities are the driving force behind this," he said.

Mr. Naveen Jindal, Chancellor, JGU, said, "The universities of the future will be the pillars of growth and development of our nation. They must be transformed into sites of active learning and research which can act as launch pads for innovation and path breaking ideas."

Chancellor Jindal announced the launch of the Jindal School of Journalism and Communication (JSJC) the 6th interdisciplinary school of JGU, which will offer opportunities for education, research and capacity building in media and communication studies.

JGU Founding Vice-Chancellor, Prof (Dr) C Raj Kumar, said, "India does not have a single university in the top 25 Asian universities while China has 5 universities in those rankings, besides Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and other countries. We need to introspect and think about the future of universities which will enable and empower us to contribute towards institution building for nation building."

"I have always maintained that while Make in India is important for developing business and advancing economic opportunities, the future of India will depend upon the making of India through academic institutions and universities," he said.

The conference was a culmination of a range of ideas and perspectives that will help shape India's aspirations of building world-class universities through comparative and international dimensions.

The forum recognized that while individual scholars have reached global excellence, the Indian university, as an institution requires essential reforms to acquire international status.